Record Rack: A round-up of the week’s new albums, expanded reissues and/or box sets, appearing each Monday on Slicing Up Eyeballs. All releases due out this Friday unless noted.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
RELEASE: Lovely Creatures: The Best of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
BACKSTORY: The Bad Seeds this week issue a new hits set in multiple formats: a standard 2CD set, a triple LP collection, a deluxe 3CD/1DVD version and a super-deluxe edition that adds a 256-page hardback book.
BUY: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, iTunes
Midnight Oil
RELEASE: The Full Tank, The Overflow Tank
BACKSTORY: Beginning this week, the Oils’ massive new box sets are available through Amazon’s UK arm (U.S. release is a few weeks off). The Overflow Tank has 14 hours of unreleased material.
BUY: Amazon.co.uk
Blondie
RELEASE: Pollinator
BACKSTORY: The legendary Blondie returns with its 11th studio album, a two-years-in-the-making set that features contributions from Johnny Marr, Sia, Dev Hynes, Charli XCX and members of TV on the Radio and The Strokes.
BUY: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, iTunes
The Afghan Whigs
RELEASE: In Spades
BACKSTORY: Greg Dulli and Co. return with their second post-reunion album, a 10-track set on Sub Pop Records that includes the songs “Demon in Profile,” “Arabian Heights,” “Oriole,” “Light as a Feather” and more.
BUY: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, iTunes
Slowdive
RELEASE: Slowdive
BACKSTORY: The reunited shoegazers return with their first new album in 22 years, an eight-song self-titled set that includes the tracks “Don’t Know Why,” “Sugar for the Pill” and “No Longer Making Time.”
BUY: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, iTunes
The Suicide Commandos
RELEASE: Time Bomb
BACKSTORY: The pioneering Minneapolis punk band returns with its second album, and first in 39 years, a 14-song collection featuring “Boogie’s Coldest Acre,” “Milk of Human Kindness” and “Poll Palace Cigar.”
BUY: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, iTunes
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- New releases: Thurston Moore, Miracle Legion’s Mark Mulcahy, Pet Shop Boys, U2
- New releases: Robyn Hitchcock’s new self-titled album, plus Big Star’s ‘Third’ live
- New releases: Clan of Xymox returns with ‘Days of Black,’ plus Wire’s U.S. release
Another bleeding Nick Cave best of? You’re going Bowie on us, sir. Stop that.
Agreed. Hoping they’re not using Arthur’s untimely and tragic passing to put out gratuitous “best ofs”.
Only other ‘Best of’ I’m aware of from the Bad Seeds is the one that came out in 1998. There was a B-sides comp in 2005, but, really, this is an under-anthologized band, not an over-anthologized one.
Do you really think, as slowed down as his output’s become, focusing more on soundtracks with Warren Ellis and the Grinderman albums, on top of the expanded reissues from a few years back, that a best-of, especially given how expansive the last one was (accompanying DVD, live bonus disc) is justified at this time?
I don’t.
Maybe if there were some rarities or it was more inclusive (Grinderman as well as Boys Next Door/Birthday Party), I could see that. This is just Best of Bowie following Sound + Vision or the Ryko Costello best-of after the CBS/Columbia release.
Well, Nick Cave hasn’t had a great album since No More Shall We Part. It is a shame that most of the material on the DVD is latter day performances. Since Blixa left and the Bad Seeds became the mid-life crisis Warren Ellis show, they haven’t been particularly compelling.
The new Slowdive is excellent.
possibily one of the best releases this year, if its a band you’re not usually into ..please grab a listen to the Afghan Whigs new album,